Jagged Edges
by honorarytitans-go
Summary: Noah is new to the group, and Carl isn't the warmest of the bunch. Their friendship is already rocky But welcome to Alexandria Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Rick held up a hand behind himself, signaling for the party behind him to remain still and quiet. The small group of eight was crouching, leavening their backs against a two story modern home that looked generally abandoned, which meant dangerous. Rick stuck his head around the house to check if the coast was clear around the front porch, which was futile. If anything living or not was on the front porch, it would have noticed or heard the huge fire truck approaching and the police patrol car following close behind it. The group was to check out every room of the home, and the surrounding perimeter for trap doors or doors to basements. The group consisted of Glenn, Michonne, Rick, Daryl, Tyreese, Abraham, Rosita, and Carol. Rick made a simple wave with his hands, and he, Michonne, Daryl, Glenn, and Carol proceeded to the front porch, while the other three remained outside to keep watch and scan the perimeter.

Rick stood on the front porch in front of the front door, and tested to see if it was locked. It was. Carol stepped forward silently and Rick held up three fingers, counting down. Three…two….one..Carol lifted her foot and kicked out at the locked door, causing the frame to crack and splinter, making the door swing in violently. As soon as the door swung open, Carol's gun was up, her wrists crossed to hold up her solar powered flashlight also. After scanning the immediate area, Carol put her pistol back in its holster. "Living rooms clear." The woman said, and the rest of the smaller party followed her in, breaking off to search different areas.

xxx

A half mile away from the house, Carl leaned against the patrol car, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his father and the others walk into the home. While they were checking out the possible temporary shelter, Carl was punished to babysit, literally. His father had left him to watch Judith, who he had simply put in the passenger seat and let her play around with the keys, and then he had locked the doors to make sure she didn't accidentally climb out or anything. Tara was in the fire truck with Maggie, trying to talk her out of the dark depression she had slipped into after Beth's death. It had hit everyone pretty hard, especially her and Daryl, but Maggie was the only one who didn't seem to be getting any better. Sasha was on top of the fire truck with a hunting rifle, cleaning it to occupy her time. As for the new recruit, Noah, he was taking a nap on the roof, hugging the ax from the fire truck he had decided to arm himself with instead of a gun.

"No need to pout dude, they had enough people already anyway." Noah said, hopping off the top of the patrol care, subsequently causing it to shake.

Carl turned away from the older boy, not replying to his prodding. Sure, he knew that his dad, Michone, and Daryl were enough on their own, let alone everyone else, but that didn't stop him from feeling like his dad didn't trust him enough to follow him inside. After all this time, Rick was still treating Carl like his perfect little boy that he had to protect.

Carl took in a deep breath, and then let it out in an angsty sigh as Noah sat Indian style next to him, laying his ax across his lap. Noah looked up at Carl, who was making a point at not looking down at him.

"So how old are you anyway? Like, ten? Five?"

Carl finally looked down at Noah, giving him a scrutinizing look. "What do you want?"

Noah shrugged, "Im just trying to fill this awkward silence with conversation."

"Yeah, well stop."

At that, Noah did stop talking. The darker of the two boys stood up and proceeded to swing his ax at the air, as if he was attacking a group of walkers. His down swipe was shaky and the ax fell from his hands and clattered to the ground, almost taking half of his foot with it. The ax stopped right next to Carl.

Carl scoffed, "Smart move, Samurai Jackass. Remind me to stay away from you if we got attacked." Carl went to bend down to pick the ax up and then handed it to Noah. "Why did you choose that thing anyway? We have more guns, and you're not strong enough to do anything with it. Best case scenario, you swing and it gets lodged in a walkers head, and then you're dead."

Noah looked down at his choice of weapon and shrugged, "'I've never been a big fan of guns, and plus, you have to admit that this thing is cool." The corner of Noah's mouth turned up ever so slightly, forming a smirk.

"Whatever" Carl replied with indifference, proceeding to ignore the other guy again.

Noah looked Carl up and down, and pressed his lips into a small line. "You don't like me very much, do you?"

To this, Carl simply shrugged as if he wasn't listening anyway, but he was. Noah wasn't too off with this assumption; it wasn't that Carl didn't like him, it was more so that Carl hated him being here. He was one more person for the group to take care of, one more liability, one more death to cry over when he dies just like that damn

Carls thoughts were interrupted with a shrill noise blasting from behind him like the sound of a thousand dying cats. Carl and Noah both shot their hands up to cover their ears; Noah dropping the ax, and then turned to the car to see what the problem was.

Judith had turned on the siren, and it was blasting for everyone in a thousand mile radius to hear.

Carl lunged for the passenger door, but found it locked. He then started feeling around his more than worn jeans for the keys, when the realization dawned upon him. "Shit Shit Shit" The young boy muttered.

Noah walked up behind Carl, having to scream loudly to be heard over the blasting siren, his face lighting up blue and red with the flashing of the lights. "DUDE OPEN THE DOOR!"

"ITS LOCKED!"

"THEN USE THE KEYS!"

"I CANT!"

"WHY NOT?"

"BECAUSE JUDITH HAS THEM!"

Noah didn't reply then, but looked at Carl with a look of horror mixed with amusement. Carls face with simply sheer horror. This would surely attract walkers, and this is another thing for his dad to hate him for

…..great.

Reviews are much appreciated, first attempt at writing in a while v.v


	2. Chapter 2

The siren of the patrol car continued to blare, emitting a noise that was both rhythmic and ear splitting. Carl and Noah stood outside of the vehicle, guarding their ears with their hands and searching for a solution.

Noah picked his ax up again, screaming over the shrill noise of the siren, "I GOT AN IDEA" he yelled, drawing Carl's attention

Carl turned to his darker companion in time enough to see him attack the backseat window of the patrol car with his ax, striking it multiple times and only succeeding in leaving scratches. Nevertheless, Noah continued his assault, sweat collecting around his temples from the effort. Carl released a dramatic sigh that was lost in the noise, and decided to end this pathetic display of masculinity.

"IT'S BULLETPROOF, GENIUS"

Noah finally stopped his assault, panting from the attempt, staring at the minimal amount of damage he had done to the glass. "WELL THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW BEFORE."

"YEAH WELL, I HAVE A BETTER IDEA" Carl reached to his waist and pulled the pistol he always carried from its holster, aiming it at the driver's seat window. Fully prepared to fire, Carl released a surprised yelp when he felt Noah slap his hands down.

"STOP! YOU MIGHT HIT JUDITH OR GET GLASS ON HER, SHOOT THE BACK"

Carl was fully ready to give a smart reply, when there was a sound of concussive force that made the siren sound like a cats purr, then the sound of shattering glass. Within a second of said sound, the siren was off, and Carl hung his head, because he knew what was coming next.

"Carl! What the _hell_ did you think you were doing?!" Rick asked, appearing from the back of the patrol car with Judith in his arms, the rest of the group behind him. When the teenage boy looked up at the menacing glare of his father, he was also met with an equal furious one from Michonne and Carol. One could assume there would be a dirty look coming from the man carrying a crossbow if he hadn't turned to retrieve the other half of the group from around the home.

Noah stood with his back to the adults who had just practically saved the day and as he looked at the distraught yet hardened face of Carl in front of him, he knew that the one from his dad couldn't be any better. Noah could practically _feel_ the heat of their collective glares on his back, and kept his head down as he turned to face the others, standing next to Carl.

Rick stared his son down, his jaw in a permanent clench. "I asked you a question, boy, what did you think you were doing? Do you realize how _dangerous_ all this noise is? And then you went and left Judith in the car by herself with the keys, so what, you can play grab ass with this kid?!" The sheriff asked, gesturing to Noah. There was a brief moment of silence before Rick continued. "You know, sometimes I question if you even have a brain in that head of yours."

Michonne reached out to touch Ricks arm lightly, but he shouldered her off

"Dad I…" Carl began, but was cut off by the Noah's voice, who had finally decided to stop staring at his own dirty sneakers.

"It was all my fault sir, Carl had went to use the bathroom, and I've never been good with babies, so I thought it was best to just leave her in the car, sir. I'm sorry…..sir"

Rick, with a look of surprise, was silent for a moment. He stared at the boy with curiosity, and then turned back towards his son to see that he was doing the same, and he was not fooled at all.

"If we have learned anything is that sacrificing yourself for someone else isn't going to get you anything but a set of incisors in the shoulder." Rick said to the older of the boys, and then addressed Carl. "And you were just going to let him take the fire for you, weren't you?"

Before Carl could utter a reply, the sound of Daryl's voice came from the home and he was running.

"Time to go, we've got walkers."

Rick grumbled and with Judith in his arms, proceeded to walk towards the fire truck. "Carl and Noah, you're in the car with Tara, Glen, and Maggie."

"DAD!" Carl began, objecting and his voice cracked a little.

Rick handed the child to Michonne before turning back to his son, "We don't have time for this Carl now get in the car now!"

Carl hung his head lower, and without a further word, headed to the patrol car with Noah. While Carl rode in the back with Noah and Tara, Glen drove with Maggie in the passenger seat. Rick, Michonne, Tyreese, and Sasha rode in the front of the fire truck, and Daryl had found a pair of twin motorcycles back in the city. Obviously, Daryl took one for himself, but it was Abraham who had decided to take the others, much to Daryl's complaint about him stealing his style. Carol rode on the back of Daryl's bike while Sasha rode on the back of Abrahams.

As the group drove away from the failed attempt at a temporary, sanctuary, Carl stared out of the window, expression blank. He stared at the green of the bare planes that laid between country home and country home, at the thick tries that made of the small forestry. He allowed his mind to equal his expression, distancing himself from his feelings, from those around him, from himself.

xxx

Night had befallen the small group and the sound of chirping crickets filled all of their ears. A gentle breeze picked up, blowing loose and dead leaves off of the branches of the surrounding trees. In the midst of this silent and peaceful night lay a group of fighters, a group of people surviving against a world that was all but peaceful.

Around a crackling campfire sat Rick Grimes, a bottle of vodka lying next to his sitting form. The gruff looking sheriff stared blankly at the dancing colors of the flame, lost in deep thought and fascinated by the primal nature of the heat source. The sound of dead leaves being stepped on drew Rick from his solitary thought, and caused him to turn around to see who was approaching.

"What is it Michonne, I have about one more hour before you switch out for watch." Rick muttered, turning back to the flame and taking a swig from the half empty bottle of alcohol.

Michonne sat silently next to Rick; sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.

After a brief moment of silence, Rick finally spoke, "I guess it would be too much to hope that you are just here because you had a bad dream?"

Michonne rolled her eyes, a grin appearing on her lips and she kicked his booted foot with her own.

Ricked laughed as quietly as he could, but with true joy, and wiped the liquid from his mouth. "Guess not"

"You were too hard on him today Rick, it was an accident."

Ricks smile disappeared from his face, and his stare returned back to the flame. "Yea, a mistake that could have got us all killed, Michonne. You're friends with him, good; he needs one, but leave it to me to be his father."

Michonne sat in silence for a while, "You know he is just trying to be like you, right? At least how he thinks you are; jaded, hard, and cold, completely ready for the world to turn and stab him in the back at all times."

Rick drank from his bottle again and scoffed, "yea is that so bad?"

"He is high strung and sleeps with one eye open."

"And again, is that so bad in this world? Look what we have been through Michonne, he is being smart!"

"Then how about when Judith is five I teach her how to slit a throat."

"No! She is too young for that."

"And Carl isn't?"

At this, Rick was silent, and Michonne didn't prod any further. Rick drank from his bottle once more, and turned to the woman next to him. "Mish" He began, reaching over to her and stroking her cheek. Michonne closed her eyes, clenched her jaw, and tightened her grip on her knees as Rick did so.

When Rick went to stroke again, Michonne grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"Rick, you're drunk." She said frankly.

"Tell me something I don't know." Rick said with a chuckle.

Michonne looked at him in disgust before standing and beginning to walk back to her sleeping area in the little camp site the group made.

Rick laughed once more before going back in on the vodka, "See ya in an hour."

xxx

A short distance from where Rick sat around the fire, Carl lay in a sleeping bag next to Glenn, Noah, and Daryl, staring up at the starry night sky.

"You know, before all of this, I was never able to see the night sky properly. " Noah said from next to the teen, to Carl's surprise. He had thought Noah was asleep. Carl groaned, and didn't issue a reply.

"Yeah, the city was always too bright; too bright to see half the stars that riddled space. If we can say anything good about what happened, it's that it made nature more beautiful." Noah said, looking over at the quiet Carl. "Hey, um, what happened early was pretty tough, I'm sorry about that."

Carl sat there thinking, and finally turned to face Noah, "Why did you do that earlier? Take up for me?"

Even in the dark of nice, Carl could see the white of Noah's teeth when he smiled, "Eh, I'm used to taking the heat for others, no need for a thank you." Noah said smugly.

Carl turned away from Noah once more, "Good, because you weren't going to get one."

Noah furrowed his brow, slightly offended, "You know what, I take it back, a thank you is much needed. For all you know, your dad could have taken my head off back there, or fed me to the Lurkers for endangering his kid."

"Yeah well I didn't ask you to do it," Carl replied, "And look how it went; I don't see my dad apologizing any time soon."

Noah sat up quickly, "You know what, I've been nothing but nice to you and have been trying to talk to you ever since I joined you guys and all you've been is an ass to me. What? Do you not like black people or something?" Noah asked jokingly, but wouldn't be surprised if the teen said yes.

Carl replied with an amused laugh, "Have you met Michonne? Tyreese or Sasha?" Carl asked once he had calmed down from his laughing. "Have you thought that maybe it's just you I don't like?"

((Reviews?))


	3. Chapter 3

((Sorry guy I completely forgot about this story! I reread it an am actually pretty proud of the writing I did, heres an update. Given how old the story is, Im going to continue with the story as is and I will slowly try to catch up with the show.))

Maggie got no sleep, she sat awake all might staring up at the night sky, watching the rise and fall of Glens chest next to her, listening the the sound of wildlife moving around her, fighting off the irritating bugs of the night. The sun was beginning to rise, chasing off the night skies and any hope at getting sleep that Maggie had. It was ok though; she thought, all she sleep had waiting for her was nightmares.

Maggie got up and walked towards the fire that had only one other resident; Michonne, who was sharpening her Katana.

"Anymore of that rabbit jerky left?" Maggie asked, taking a seat right next to Michonne, taking note how much hotter it was next to the fire and covering her bare legs with her jacket.

Michonne turned to look at Maggie and with a smile went back to sharpening her blade. "Nope I think Abraham might have eaten it all."

A long silence followed, with the only things audible was the morning chirps of the birds, the crackle of the fire, and the sharp shrill sound of rock again metal. "Do you think we'll ever stop fighting?" Maggie asked, not looking at Michonne purposefully not looking at her. At first Maggie didn't think she was going to reply, leaving the question to dry and going back to listening the sounds around her and the sound of everyone else awakening.

"I don't know Maggie," Michonne finally said, drawing her attention back to the conversation and away from the sound of friendly footsteps approaching, "But I know seven places to hit to kill a man, and that you don't wash dark and light colors in the same wash. And I make sure to remember that both are important." she said, sliding her sword back into the sheath.

Maggie went to open her mouth in response but was cut off as Glenn sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. Maggie flenched when he reached in to kiss her on the cheek but not so hard it was noticeable. "Morning Babe" Glenn said to Maggie then noticed Michonnes presence. "Oh morning Michonne" he said before turning his attention back to Maggie who wasn't looking at him. "Umm, I was thinking of scouting the area before we head out, see if there is anywhere to get some supplies, maybe see if there was anything around her we could catch and eat...Uh did you want to come with?" Glenn said with a gentle smile, trying to catch Maggie's gaze.

"No I'm ok" Maggie said, shrugging off his arm. "Im just going to sit back here, start packing the cars up...um maybe help take care of Judith...but you go ahead! Be safe" Maggie said, turning to look Glenn in the face and feeling her chest empty at the sight of his concerned gaze. Maggie feigned a smile and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear "Im fine" Maggie said, getting up from her spot, "I promise" she said in a gentle voice before leaning down, cupping Glenns cheeks and kissing his forehead. Maggie turned to walk back towards her tent, wrapping her jacket around her waist. Glenn watched her walk away, "I'm worried about her" Glenn said to Michonne who was also rising up from her spot, but not taking his eyes off of Maggie.

Michonne patted the dirt off of her pants and chuckled, "She is worried about you too."

The rhythmic crunch of the leaves echoed through the otherwise silent forest. Sweat rolled off of Carls forehead and down to his eyelashes, where they beads built up and hung off of the tips of his eyelashes until it got so heavy it dripped onto his lip. Carl turned to look at everyone else around him. Daryl was as sweaty and greasy as he always was, hyper focused on the things around him. Glen was right beside him, sweat glistening off of his brow and he was speaking quietly to Sasha who was surprisingly dry, not a trace of sweat on her body. Then there was Noah, who tailed right behind Carl as if he own shadow.

"So do we just wander aimlessly around the forest until we come upon what? A gingerbread house?" Noah said, his arms resting on the axe that laid around his shoulders.

The only way Carls dad let him Scout with everyone else was if Noah came with him, and the only thing worse than scouting with a talkative Noah was being stuck at camp doing nothing with a talkative Noah. "You're not really supposed to talk." Carl said, hoping he'd just believe him instead of continuing to talk. "Well," Noah began, not to Carls luck, "If anything they would smell us before they would hear us."

Carl remained silent, but Noah was right. No one ever talked about it because you can't really take a hot shower at your luxury these days. You really just get used to the smell but when someone points it out you notice it and it is indeed gross. Carl looked back at Noah, and saw his thin shirt clinging to his sweaty body, showing every curve and edge of his surprisingly nice body. Carl didn't notice himself staring until his gaze reached up to Noah's, who returned the gaze with a curious expression.

"What?" Noah asked

Carl felt an unfamiliar feeling in his stomach and looked straight ahead, "I said you're not supposed to talk."

Noah opened his mouth to reply but was intururpted by the sound of Glen yelling in their direction. "HEY GUYS, I FOUND A RIVER!" Glenn yelled, a distance away from the young duo. A smile broke out on Noahs face and he started moving towards Gelnn. He patted Carl on the shoulder, "Come on its bath time baby!" He said and started running towards the rest of the group. Carl smiled, feeling a wave of relief wash over him for multiple reasons.

Carl started walking towards the sound of moving water. "Yea, bath time."

((Sorry this is so bad ? but heres an update))


	4. Chapter 4

The water shimmered in the midday sunlight as Carl, Daryl and Noah sat along the waterfront. Sasha and Glenn had decided to head back towards the rest of the group, while the other three stayed to see if anyone came by the river. Carl sat with his knees up against his chest while Noah had rolled up his pants up to his knees and was walking sitting on a large rock with his feet in the river. Daryl was off in the distance cleaning his crossbow and eyeing the water, his guard up at every moment of the day.

Carl stared up and down the river,keeping an eye out for any walkers who could have been following the noise of the moving stream. Carl was thinking back to the last time he was on the near the water, back on Hershel's farm, before Carl knew to be….

"Want to swim?" Noah asked, pulling Carl from his train of thought.

"No" Carl replied simply.

"And why not?"

"Because I said no"

The conversation came to a halt, just the sound of wilderness around them. Carl went to start standing up; thinking it would be good to go ahead and secure the perimeter of just sitting there, when he felt the cold refreshing touch of water on his face. Carl recoiled and wiped the water from his face and glared at Noah who had an amused look on his face.

"What the hell Noah?" Carl asked

Noah chuckled "You really need a bath"

Carl rolled his eyes and made the motions to stand again when Noah splashed him again.

"Dude stop" Carl said, wiping his face again.

"Stop what?" Noah asked, splashing water towards Carl again.

"Dude!" Carl yelled.

"Yea?" Noah said between a laugh and tossing more water at Carl.

"Stop!" Carl yelled out, picking up a rock from beside him and chucking it at Noah. There was a thud and a loud splash, and when Carl cleared the water from his face Noah wasn't there anymore. Carl stood and walked to where Noah was sitting, "Noah?" he called out. He didn't reply.

Carl looked from the shoreline and into the water and saw Noah's body floating in the water, and the tint of red leaking from the side of his head. Panic set in and Carl started breathing quickly, "Noah" he said under his breath and leaped into the river. Carl swam sloppily towards Noah's body and when he reached it pulled it closer to himself.

"Noah come on" Carl muttered, trying to shake him awake. Noah's eyes were closed and blood was running from his nose and into the river and it was getting hard to keep both of them floating. Carl felt his eyes start to burn end he reached up to wipe his eyes when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, lift him up and then pull him into the water.

And all he could do was scream.

xxx

Rick, Sasha, Glenn, Carol and Abraham walked through the dense forestry towards where Glenn and Sasha said the river was. Rick didn't know if the river could be trusted so he left the rest of the group back at camp to start clearing the campsite. With running and clean water, they can't be the first people to find it and definitely won't be the last.

Everyone was silent outside of the directions Glenn whispered to the rest of the group. Everyone understood how it was to be heading towards such an open and desirable resource and that no one knew the area, so being as cautious as possible was the best move. Glenn could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up from the tension of the situation.

/_Shliick_/

Everyone stopped and spun around, weapons drawn and eyes alert for any possible danger. However, everyone lowered their weapons when they saw that all it was was the sound of Carol burying a knife in the side of a walker's head, and as she slid the creatures now truly lifeless body down to the ground, she flashed an apologetic smile at the rest of the gang.

"Sorry about that" She said warmly, wiping her blade against her thigh.

Rick nodded and turned back towards Glenn to signal for him to continue leading the group towards the river. Rick felt the presence of someone standing close to him and turned to see it was just Abraham.

"So if it's clear, we gonna make camp there?" Abraham asked, keeping his eyes forward.

"We'll decide when if it's clear." Rick said bluntly. "But if it is, we stay one more night. We don't make camp directly near the river because it's too open, find a nearby refill ur water supply, then we leave."

"And where are we leaving to exactly?" Sasha said, chiming in on the conversation.

Rick remained silent and the conversation ended there and it back to the silence of the forest; that was until a shrill scream broke through the otherwise cool ambiance of the forest.

Everyone knew who the scream came from, everyone turned to Rick.

"Carl!" Rick yelled out, whipping his gun from its holster and taking off ahead of the group with everyone following behind him.

xxx

Water bubbles flew from Carl's mouth and into the silence of the underwater world. Carl had his eyes open and could see the muddy bottom of the river, the sacred fish fleeing from the motion of this scene, the numerous other items floating in the water from the world that used to be.

Carl almost forgot he had been drug underwater until his lungs and nostrils began to burn and he began fighting towards the surface of the water. He looked around for another pair of legs outside his own and Noah's but saw none, so what drug him under?

Carl broke the surface and immediately sucked in a large gulp of air, that further seared his lungs and made his chest tighten, that sent him into a coughing fit. There was another sound outside of Carl's coughing, and it was laughter. Carl turned around, pain tears in his eyes to see who was laughing and his eyes fell upon the completely conscious Noah. Noah's eyes were also filled with tears but from joy not pain, even though his nose was still bleeding.

"What the fuck Noah?!" Carl asked angrily, his coughing finally dying down and getting water out of his face.

"What?" Noah said between laughs, "I got you in the water didn't I?"

"That wasn't funny, I thought you were dead and I was attacked."

"Okay come on, it was a little funny." Noah said behind his laughter that had not stopped.

"Akey key key" Carl said mocking his laughter and splashing water at him.

"Oh really?" Noah said, splashing Carl back.

"Yes really" Carl said, laughing and reaching over, grabbing the top of Noah's head and pushing him under. Carl started laughing and then felt something between his legs, and then being raised as Noah's head rose out of the water. Noah grabbed onto Carl's legs that were wrapped around his shoulders, and Carl wrapped his arms around Noah's head.

"No no no!" Carl yelled out joyously, a broad smile on his face and his eyes closed right before both he and Noah hit the water.

Noah and Carl both sat under the water laughing in front of each other, just floating there. Carl reached out and pushed and kick'd Noah jokingly, trying to push im deeper into the water, and Noah grabbed onto Carl's hand, then reached over and grabbed onto the boy's waist, pulling Carl closer to him until they were chest to chest.

Noah continued to laugh under the water, but whatever little amount of air that was in Carl's lungs left as soon as he registered Noah's hand on his waist, and their chests touching. He felt a burning fire inside of his stomach and the water felt boiling hot all of a sudden; he was uncomfortable and he didn't know why. He took a second looking at Noah's goofy smiling face, how his innocently honest smile was so large it forced his eyes closed. How his otherside gravity defying hair floated around in the water.

The water was boiling and Carl couldn't breath.

Carl pushed away from Noah and began swimming towards the surface, and when he broke it he flipped his drenched hair out of his face and saw his father and a couple others standing along the shoreline, weapons drawn and all looking at him. He heard the sound of Noah breaking the surface behind him.

"Carl!" Rick yelled, rage clear on his face.

Carl's gut dropped.

xxx

Carl and Noah both stood drenched in front of Rick, neither one of them looking at him. Everyone else had went to search the perimeter of the river, leaving the trio to just there.

"So let me get this straight," Rick began, trying to keep his anger under control. "You threw a rock at Noah, caused him to bleed and then you both went into the water; fully clothed, and then plashed around giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls?"

"Well…" Noah began.

"No, you don't speak" Rick said towards Noah, cutting him off. Noah closed his mouth, and decided to just sit there silently. There was a moment or two when no one was speaking.

"Well Carl?" Rick proaded.

Carl took a moment before replying, swallowing hard, "Yes"

"Yes what?" Rick asked.

"Yes that's what happened."

"Carl.." Rick began,, "You know how stupid it is for you to be making so much noise in an unfamiliar location that so open. You're lucky we got here first and not a gang of walkers or wore, some other gang looking to take this area. And you shouldn't have gotten in in your clothes, we don't have an infinite supply and we don't have time for you to get pneumonia Either of you."

Carl and Noah both sat there with their heads hung, either looking down or looking anywhere but directly at Rick.

Rick just stared at the duo. "What's gotten into you?" Rick asked rhetorically. "I'm disappointed in you son. You both go get changed."

Noah and Carl both got up and started walking into the forest back towards camp in silence. Once they were a good distance away from Rick, Noah looked back, then forward and sped up a little to catch up with Carl.

"Hey Carl," Noah said, reaching out for Carl's shoulder but the younger boy recoiled from Noah's touch.

"Don't…...Just don't talk"

((This took me all day to type haha, I'm such a procrastinator. Review if you'd like))


End file.
